No Desk Is No Problem With TikTok's Creative IKEA Kallax Hack

Furnishing smaller rooms can be challenging; you're forced to pick which furniture pieces you need and what you'll have to leave behind. Bedrooms, for instance, typically have a bed, dresser or vanity, bookcase, and desk. A smaller room might only be able to hold a bed, dresser, and bookshelf, leaving you without a desk and vanity. However, TikTok users have developed a brilliant Ikea hack that allows them to include a bookcase and desk in a tight area, which maximizes their storage space. Using Ikea's KALLAX shelving collection, you can make various desk configurations using a few shelving units and a solid piece of plywood.

The great thing about this hack is that you don't need multiple tools. Depending on your setup, you can simply attach a piece of plywood across two shelving units and secure them with screws or brackets. Of course, you'll need to assemble the Ikea units beforehand, but you can complete the hack in less than a day. You'll need a few extra items if you decide to get creative with the shelving units and make an oversized desk. For instance, TikTok user @cosasdelily created a massive craft station with three KALLAX 30 ⅜ x 30 ⅜ inch shelving units. She customized her desk by adding wheels to move it around her room. Each IKEA unit costs $44.99. Since Ikea's KALLAX collection has shelving units in differing shapes and sizes, we enjoy the creative freedom to create a setup that works for our space.

When deciding how to set up your Ikea shelving units, consider the space in your room and how much storage you need. For instance, if you have a smaller room where the shelving units can fit in a corner and don't need a lot of storage, you might opt for a single IKEA KALLAX four-shelf unit that's 16 ½ x 57 ⅞ inches and pair it with the 30 ⅜ x 30 ⅜ inch unit. Then, you can purchase a piece of plywood from Home Depot or Lowe's, where they can cut it to size so you can lay it over the shorter shelves, nailing it down to keep it in place and create your desk.

On the other hand, if you have a larger room where you can put together multiple units, then you can follow TikTok user @cosasdelily's design, where she combined three 30 ⅜ x 30 ⅜ inch KALLAX shelves. She created a U-shape desk with the units and attached three pieces of plywood to the bottom to add wheels. Then, turning the desk right side up, she secured another larger piece of plywood on the surface that spilled over the sides to fill the gap between the units. The edges have exposed wood, so you can cover them with melamine edge adhesive banding, which you can find on Amazon for $10.99. Using multiple units gives you additional storage space for your books and crafts. Plus, you can customize the units by painting the Ikea furniture a different color.